Faced with the difficulties of a minority government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh announced their two parties would put aside some of their differences and support one another in Parliament until 2025.

On March 22, Trudeau and Singh announced in back-to-back press conferences that the Liberals and NDP had struck a supply-and-confidence agreement – a way to protect a minority government from the possibility of a snap election forced by the other parties in Parliament. In this case, a successful vote of no-confidence in the House of Commons would require the Conservatives, NDP, and Bloc Québécois to all vote against the governing Liberals.

“Politics is supposed to be adversarial,” said the NDP statement on the deal, “but no one benefits when increasing polarization and parliamentary dysfunction stand in the way of delivering these results for Canadians. In these highly uncertain and difficult times, Canadians expect us to come together and get to work to help make their lives better.”

In return for siding with the Liberals during a possible confidence vote, the NDP will get the chance to pursue some of its own policies with Liberal support. The two parties have said they won’t agree on everything, but the deal gives the NDP a chance to push climate, housing, and healthcare policy that could strengthen Canada’s social safety net. 

Canada’s social impact sector, as well as corporate social responsibility, social finance, and community economic development, aren’t explicitly mentioned in the deal. However, the deal could open additional funding opportunities for changemakers and drive badly needed improvements to Canada’s quality of life. 

In a lengthy statement from the NDP, the party outlined all of the policy points the Liberals and NDP agree to prioritize for the next three years. Future of Good dove into the most important ones for Canada’s social impact sector and the communities it serves:

Pass a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023

The gist: Launch a Canada Pharmacare Act by the end of 2023 to set up a system of universal drug coverage for all Canadians. The NDP have called for pharmacare in one form or another since the 90s, while the Liberals briefly mentioned the concept in its 2021 election platform.

Why it matters:  Nurses’ unions, sexual health non-profits, and medical associations, among other social purpose organizations, have called for pharmacare for decades as a way to spare vulnerable and low-income clients from excessively high drug prices. Implementing pharmacare would be the biggest policy development for Canadian healthcare since the introduction of the country’s publicly funded healthcare system in 1966.

A closer look: Pharmacare has been delayed for years. The Final Report of the Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare in 2019 estimated legislation would be in place by 2022 – with full coverage by the end of 2027. The deal pushes that estimation back another year at least.

Pass a Safe Long-Term Care Act into law

The gist: The Liberal government promised in their 2021 election campaign to eventually sign a Safe Long-Term Care Act into law “to ensure that seniors are guaranteed the care they deserve, no matter where they live.” (The NDP promised to end private, for-profit long-term care and develop national care standards, but this promise isn’t reflected in the deal.) In their deal, both parties reiterate the promise of a Safe Long-Term Care Act to protect seniors in the future.

Why it matters: Canada’s long-term care facilities had a shocking death rate compared to their counterparts in other G7 countries – most of the country’s COVID-19 deaths occurred in, or after contact with, long-term care residents. Meanwhile, Canada’s senior population is rapidly growing and will likely need supportive, long-term care, either in a facility or at home, as they grow older.

A closer look: Although the Canadian government can certainly pass the Safe Long-Term Care Act, healthcare is generally a provincial – not federal – matter. Provinces and territories could choose not to implement the standards.  

Moving forward on launching a Housing Accelerator Fund

The gist: The Liberals promised in their 2021 election platform to launch a $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund to increase the annual housing supply in Canada’s largest cities every year, with a goal of 100,000 new “middle-class homes” by 2025. It appears the exact same promise has shown up again in the Liberal-NDP deal. (The NDP promised “fast-start funds” to kick-start co-op, social, and non-profit housing projects.)

Why it matters: With the Liberals fixated on housing shortages in Canada’s largest cities, non-profit housing developers may want to shift their efforts to suburban and rural areas where housing shortfalls don’t get a lot of attention. 

A closer look: Based on the Liberals’ election platform, the Housing Accelerator Fund wouldn’t actually build houses – it would simply reward cities who alter their local bylaws to speed up approval times for new homes.

Lowering the rent maximum for affordable housing for the Rental Construction Financing Agreement

The gist: The Rental Construction Financing Agreement provides low-cost loans to developers looking to build rental apartment projects with some affordable housing units. Currently, only a fifth of the units inside any of these projects needs to be classified as ‘affordable’ – costing less than 30 percent of the median salary of anyone in the neighbourhood. The Liberal-NDP deal would refocus the Agreement to concentrate on affordable housing only, rather than just having a fifth of all units within a project be classified as affordable, and redefine ‘affordable’ as any unit costing less than 80 percent of the average market rent of a home in the area. This could make housing more or less affordable for low-income people, depending on the average market rent of the area.

Why it matters: Refocusing the Rental Construction Financing Agreement could open it up to a lot of affordable housing developments, including those proposed by non-profit housing providers who otherwise might not have qualified for the Agreement.

A closer look: No additional funding seems to have been allocated to the Rental Construction Financing Agreement, as of yet, to ensure it can actually provide enough loans for applicants to build projects under a greatly expanded eligibility criteria. (None of the deal’s promises came with price tags.)

Extending the Rapid Housing Initiative for another year

The gist: The Rapid Housing Initiative launched in 2020 to provide an initial $1 billion to quickly build thousands of affordable housing units across Canada. Budget 2021 added in an extra $1.5 billion until 2022, but the new Liberal-NDP agreement would extend the initiative again, until 2023.

Why it matters: Unaffordable housing is one of the greatest social issues facing Canada today. In major cities, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer found average home prices hover anywhere from 30 to 50 percent above what it calls “affordable levels for households earning average incomes” nationwide. Meanwhile, Canada’s population is exceeding housing supply.

A closer look: Canada’s current affordable housing plans, at all levels of government, are deeply inadequate according to a nonprofit housing association coalition during the 2021 election. In order to bring Canada up to the average number of housing units per capita compared to other G7 countries, Scotiabank chief economist Jean-Francois Perrault said the country would need to build 1.8 million new houses — immediately.

Move forward on Just Transition legislation to transform fossil fuel communities

The gist: Both the Liberals and NDP promise to move forward on Just Transition legislation to help communities heavily reliant on coal, oil and gas, and other fossil fuels transition to more sustainable green economies. They promise to consult Indigenous communities, workers, industry, and other stakeholders to design this legislation.

Why it matters: Just Transition policy must take community resilience, social equity, and climate justice into account. Community service organizations – as well as workers’ rights groups – are well-placed to inform the drafting of Just Transition legislation.

A closer look: The description of this promise in the NDP’s statement on the Liberal-NDP deal is copied verbatim from the 2021 Liberal campaign platform – while it may be a welcome policy for supporting fossil fuel industry-reliant communities, the Liberals already committed to it a long time ago.

New Indigenous housing investments

The gist: The government is promising to make a “significant additional investment” in Indigenous housing in 2022 that will be designed and delivered by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities. Unfortunately, the NDP’s statement on the deal doesn’t offer any details on how much money is on offer, or when it will be distributed.

Why it matters: Terrible housing supply and underfunding by past (and present) federal governments, Indigenous people struggle to find adequate housing, especially in the Far North. Giving Indigenous leaders control of that investment would not only address housing insecurity, but reduce the often-colonial dynamic between federal funders and sovereign Indigenous nations.

A closer look: This isn’t a new promise. The Liberals promised in their campaign platform to make additional investments in Indigenous housing, while the NDP promised a fully funded Indigenous National Housing Strategy 100 days after winning an election.

Accelerate the timeline to address Canada’s crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People

The gist: Through this deal, the federal government will accelerate its Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People with Indigenous partners – and create a standing Federal-Provincial table to make it all happen at varying levels of government.

Why it matters: Indigenous women, girls, LGBTQ, and Two Spirited people face disproportionately high rates of sexual violence – something organizations working on gender-based violence say needs to be addressed by government at a national level.

A closer look: The Native Women’s Association of Canada abandoned its participation in the Canadian government’s national action plan to address MMIWG and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, calling its planning process flawed, toxic, and dysfunctional. It also isn’t clear how fast the federal government would accelerate the Pathway.

Making voting easier for eligible Canadians

The gist: Canadians would get a three-day Election Day and be allowed to vote at any polling place within their riding, rather than one chosen arbitrarily by Elections Canada. The deal also promises to improve the mail-in ballot process to ensure voters who submit their ballots “are not disenfranchised.”

Why it matters: About 13 percent of eligible Canadian voters did not cast a ballot in the 2019 federal election because of a disability, according to an Elections Canada survey – and almost a quarter pointed to problems with the voting process itself. Demolishing barriers for disabled Canadians to accessing all aspects of life, including voting, is a major priority for disability-serving organizations like the Ontario Disability Justice Network.  Other frequently disenfranchised groups include Indigenous people, youth, and Canadians with language barriers.

A closer look: There isn’t any mention of improving the accessibility of venues used for polling places during elections – adding ramps, Braille signage, or automatic doors. Nor is it clear how the government would improve the mail-in ballot process.

Tell us this made you smarter | Contact us | Report error